Community Benefit

SAN JOSE, Calif.– March 15, 2017 — Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School is pleased to announce that Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) is a “Summa Cum Laude” sponsor of its primary fundraiser of the year, taking place on March 24, 2017, at the downtown San Jose Marriott Hotel. As the lead sponsor, PAMF has pledged to help underwrite costs and provide much needed scholarship funds for Cristo Rey students.

“We are very blessed and grateful for our partnership with PAMF,” says Father Peter Pabst, SJ, president of Cristo Rey San Jose. “In addition to its generous support of our event, PAMF is the largest provider of jobs in our Work Study program, offering excellent work opportunities and mentorship for 12 Cristo Rey students.”

The Rey of Hope Luncheon will highlight accomplishments of Cristo Rey students as well as raise funds for the Rey of Hope Scholarship Fund. Elizabeth Vilardo, M.D., CEO of Palo Alto Medical Foundation, is the keynote speaker of the event, which is expected to draw in excess of 500 attendees.

“We are so pleased to have the opportunity to work with these motivated students,” said Dr. Vilardo. “We value the contribution they are making to the important work we do every day to provide the best care for patients. This is an important time for them and we hope their experiences at PAMF and Cristo Rey will help them to continue to succeed in pursuing an education, a career and giving back to others.”

Sade F., a sophomore at Cristo Rey San Jose, says, “Working at Palo Alto Medical Foundation has transformed my work day into my favorite day of the week. My work experience at PAMF has also influenced my interest in pursuing medicine as my career. I constantly learn from those around me and they inspire me to succeed. I am extremely grateful for the amazing opportunities presented to me through PAMF.”

Working at both the Sunnyvale and Mountain View PAMF campuses, Sade and fellow Cristo Rey students are learning skills such as working directly with patients to help them register for the Flu Shot Express, confirming telephone appointments, working as Patient Service Representatives at the front desk of the clinical departments and facilitating the transfer of patients’ messages from the automated system to the appropriate department.

Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School provides students from underserved communities with a rigorous, college-prep education and a unique Work Study program, in which students work one day per week at Silicon Valley businesses. Fees paid by companies such as Cisco, HP, Yahoo!, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Frank Rimerman + Co., and dozens of others help offset up to 50 percent of tuition costs. Cristo Rey San Jose is one of 32 schools nationally that comprise the Cristo Rey Network, which boast a 90% college enrollment rate. More information is available at cristoreysanjose.org.

About the Palo Alto Medical Foundation

The Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) for Health Care, Research and Education, is part of the Sutter Health network of care. Founded in 1930, PAMF is a not-for-profit health care organization that is a pioneer in the multispecialty group practice of medicine, health innovation and patient-centered care. PAMF’s more than 1,400 affiliated physicians and 6,100 employees serve one million patients at its medical centers and clinics in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. For more information about the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, please visit the PAMF website.

PAMF staff at the Mountain View Surgery Center collaborated with RotaCare to deliver the free surgeries.

During the month of August, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), a Sutter Health affiliate, held its annual Gift of Surgery event, during which doctors performed 72 free surgeries for patients of safety net clinics who could not afford elective surgeries. PAMF physicians volunteered approximately 180 physician hours and their medical teams three times that.

The Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) hosted the first “Coming Together 4 R Youth Symposium” on August 26, 2015, to help connect health care professionals with local teen health and wellness resources. The event was held at PAMF’s Palo Alto Center. More than 90 professionals from local medical and mental health organizations, city government offices and schools attended the symposium.

PAMF Regional President Dr. Lizz Vilardo (l) presents the $200,000 donation to Kathleen King (r) of the Santa Clara Family Health Foundation

PAMF Regional President Lizz Vilardo, M.D., presented the check to Kathleen King, executive director of Santa Clara Family Health Foundation. “This gift will fund health insurance for 194 children who otherwise would not receive appropriate health care,” said Dr. Vilardo. “For years, state budget cuts have negatively impacted county health programs and have reinforced the importance of philanthropic support. This gift reinforces PAMF’s long-time commitment to keeping children and their families healthy.”

“Healthy Kids fills the crucial gap in insurance and health care access for many low- and moderate-income families who can’t insure their children because they lack access to employer-sponsored insurance or are not eligible for public coverage via Medi-Cal and Healthy Families,” King explained. “In Santa Clara County, those families can enroll their children in Healthy Kids. We believe one uninsured child in our county is one too many.”

Launched in 2001, the locally funded Healthy Kids health insurance program increases access to and use of both medical and dental care, which are crucial contributors to children’s overall well-being and health.

“The physicians and professionals of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation recognize this need and we are committed to helping children in the communities we serve,” said Dr. Vilardo. “The work that the Santa Clara Family Health Foundation does to help the neediest of our county’s children is constant and critical.”

About Santa Clara Family Health Foundation

Santa Clara Family Health Foundation (SCFHF) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization whose focus is on raising funds to support the Healthy Kids program and the Children’s Health Initiative in Santa Clara County. Through the Foundation, community leaders, community members, foundations, corporations, local businesses, friends, and other supporters can contribute funds to help achieve the goal of providing every child in Santa Clara County with access to quality health care through insurance.

Students of the Peninsula Bridge summer school program in Palo Alto are celebrating the upcoming 2012 Olympics in London in a unique and healthy way – they are walking 5,731 miles (the distance from the Bay Area to London) from June 25 to July 27, the day the Olympics start. The Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) donated pedometers to the participating students and their teachers to help them track their progress and reach their goal.

Peninsula Bridge helps motivated middle-school students from under-resourced local communities achieve academic and personal success through a variety of programs. Their five-week, tuition-free summer program held on several Bay Area private school campuses also encourages students to develop healthy habits. This year’s “Walk to the Olympics” event is motivating students to work as a team to achieve their own Olympic goal together.